“Ukraine Is Working on Connecting the ChNPP to Ukraine’s Grid with At Least Two Power Transmission Lines,” Kudrytskyi Says 

Ukraine is working to secure a reliable power supply to the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It must be connected to Ukraine’s grid with at least two power transmission lines. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of Ukrenergo National Power Company, clarified this during his briefing in Ukraine Media Center. 

According to him, the ChNPP needs to have a standby backup power supply source against the possible damage to one of the power transmission lines.  

“This work has not been completed yet. Our personnel is forced to negotiate safe corridors and enter the areas that are being shelled. I cannot provide more detail on the status of these repairs. So far, there are no reasons to be worried about the nuclear safety of Ukraine and Europe due to issues with the power supply to the ChNPP or its fuel assembly cooling systems. The situation is under control. We are working to restore a reliable arrangement to supply power to the ChNPP,” Kudrytskyi explained. 

He also reiterated that the ChNPP has operated without an external power supply for some time. Diesel generators were used to supply power to the cooling system for the spent nuclear fuel stored within the plant site. 

“The power plant itself has not been in operation for years; however, it is important because spent nuclear fuel is stored on its site. There are several important facilities requiring power to be supplied. Our maintenance crews have restored the power transmission lines supplying power to the ChNPP from Ukraine’s grid a number of times. They were damaged due to shelling by the Russian occupiers. Our personnel risked their lives because they had to travel to the damaged locations across the gray area. In fact, they were doing their jobs at machine-gun point,” Ukrenergo’s CEO added. 

It should be noted that Ukraine’s energy system joined the European Union’s ENTSO-E grid on March 16, 2022, after three weeks of standalone operation.

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